Discipline and doing the little things right.The Saints showed a lot of both traits on Sunday and for the first time this season looked like a team that didn’t need every ounce of their allotted 60 minutes to dispose of an opponent.Small details that give players an advantage over their opposition can start in the classroom with a coach Authentic Marshon Lattimore Jersey , but even tinier seeds for success could be planted when a player goes home and does something as minute as getting a massage.I write this knowing that I’ll suggest to a friend that she have her son (whom has ambitions of playing in the NFL) read it as it offers a good example of the aforementioned.Attention to detail and mentally tough players have long been staples of successful Sean Payton operations down in New Orleans.It has to be, particularly for an offense that likes to throw everything including the kitchen sink at opposing defenses. This has been evident with the Taysom Hill packages that have been sprinkled into the offensive gumbo like a good file.Not that cheap store brand stuff either!I’m talmbout the one a friend of a friend hands you in a Gerber jar with the words file written in black permanent marker across masking tape. The Hill usage has yielded positive results nearly every time he’s touched the ball, and to have the confidence to go with him on the fake punt (2nd time this season) along with rolling out his package as much as they did, points to a coaching staff comfortable with the collective attention to detail it takes to run those plays successfully.They also seem to have done their homework on the advantages and disadvantages of taking the ball out of your Hall of Fame quarterbacks hands for 21% of the offensive snaps.From Payton putting emphasis on creating more turnovers in practice the week prior, to the defensive backs playing an outside shoulder technique and not biting on double moves, collectively there were small things that the team got fixed as a whole and it lead to their first true complimentary win of the season against the Giants.Miscellaneous ThoughtsAlvin Kamara will go down as one of the best 3rd round picks ever if he continues to be as productive as he’s been.Through 20 games of his short NFL career he’s scored 114 points.That’s a faster start than any other skill position player Payton has acquired in his time with the Saints.Dennis Allen making adjustments showed up promptly.One small detail worth mentioning is Marcus Davenport playing in a 2-point stance more often in pass rushing situations.That’s a coach allowing a player to do what he’s comfortable with.David Onyemata played more snaps than Sheldon Rankins. That’s significant because the Saints are reducing Rankins run down snaps and it keeps him more fresh for pass rushing situations.He forced 4 hurried throws and won very quickly at times with a refined spin move according to Rev.Payton really respected the Giants defensive front.For them to run on them the way they did was phenomenal.Twas a good example of the o-line imposing it’s will.They played playoff caliber football along the LOS.Thomas hinted after the game that his low numbers weren’t because he was ineffective but because of the attention he garnered.Payton probably noticed this and used him as a decoy to open things up for other guys like playoff Josh Hill.He still caught 4 passes on 5 targets.You can’t blank him out.Saints don’t win very often when Drew Brees fails to score a TD and yet they did just that against the Giants.New Orleans heads into their Week 5 Monday Night matchup vs. the Redskins with momentum, an extra day to rest (to get said maintenance) and a little bit more time for Mark Ingram to slide back into the ranks after being away the last month. All things positive, the Saints closed out the 1st quarter of their schedule above .500 for the first time since 2013. The objective at the start of the season was to come out the gates fast and as the curtain falls on Act I of “March to the Lombardi #twodat” they can look back and say mission accomplished. On to the Redskins and the fall of the next historic NFL record at the hands of Drew Brees.Who Dat!What if the 49ers Fail to Score at the End of the 2011 Divisional Round? Right up there with the “Minnesota Miracle,” the 2011 NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers is one of the most soul-sucking games of the Sean Payton Era for the New Orleans Saints and their fans.The 2011 season for the New Orleans Saints will go down as one of the biggest lost opportunities of the franchise. The offense was electric. The Saints had 5 Pro Bowlers on offense that season: Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Carl Nicks, Jahri Evans, and Jermon Bushrod. Drew Brees slung the ball all season, passing for a then-NFL record 5 Authentic Michael Thomas Jersey ,476 passing yards while also leading the league in completion percentage at 71.2%. He threw for an amazing 46 passing TDs while only totaling 14 interceptions. And we’ve said Jimmy Graham went to the Pro Bowl, but this was his coming out party. He finished the year with 1,310 receiving yards, still the highest total of his career. The Saints also had a four-headed rushing attack with Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, and Chris Ivory, with the four combining for over 2,000 rushing yards, 13 rushing TDs, with another 1,100 yards in the air, and 8 receiving TDs. It was truly the Greatest Show on Turf.Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesThe Saints dominated their way through the 2011 regular season to the tune of 13-3, winning the NFC South http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/austin-carr-jersey , but only the third best record in the NFC. The Saints finished behind the #1 seed Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers and the #2 seed, the former divisional rival San Francisco 49ers. The Saints made quick work of the Detroit Lions in the first round of the playoffs, dispatching of the Lions 28-45 in the Dome. Then came the divisional round matchup against the 2nd seeded San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick...What if it had gone differently...?The 49ers had just scored a touchdown and missed the 2-point conversion to go up 24-29 with under two minutes left in regulation. The Saints then took the lead on a touchdown and successful two point conversion, 32-29, with under a minute remaining, only to have their heart ripped out with 7 seconds left as Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis on a touchdown pass to seal the game for San Francisco.But what if Malcolm Jenkins of the Saints is able to tackle Vernon Davis immediately after the catch? The 49ers would be on their own 49 yard line with only 37 seconds left in the game. They would have been forced to call their final timeout, with likely only a couple of chances to get into David Akers’s range. Akers made the Pro Bowl that year, but missed his only chances at field goals over 50 yards. If the 49ers can’t get at least twenty more yards (with no timeouts and half a minute on the clock), the 49ers don’t go on to win the game.But then what? What happens with the Saints if they go on to the NFC Championship Game?Assuming everything else plays out the same in the 2011 season, the Saints would host the #4 seed that just shocked the #1 seed Green Bay Packers: Eli Manning and the New York Giants.Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty ImagesIt shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, that the Giants gave the Packers everything they could handle in the playoffs. In Week 13, the Green Bay Packers won 38-35 on a Mason Crosby field goal with 3 seconds left in the game to steal a victory on the road. But guess what happened one week earlier in Week 12? The New Orleans Saints demolished the Giants in New Orleans 24-49.The Saints scored more than 40 points the last 5 games they played of the 2011 season (and postseason). On the other hand, the Giants failed to score 40 points any any point during a single time of the 2011 season and postseason. The Saints didn’t lose a single game at home during the 2011 regular season and postseason http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/alvin-kamara-jersey , and there would be no reason to think they wouldn’t beat the Giants in the divisional round in the Dome for the second time that year.That would mean the NFL would be getting one of the elite Super Bowl matchups that has never happened (yet): Drew Brees vs Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesIf you remember the 2011 Saints team, you’d probably remember that while they had a decent overall defense (13th overall), they were pretty poor against the pass (30th against the pass). And while you might think this means the Saints would not be able to hold up against Brady and the Pats, it’s not like the Giants were world-beaters. The G-Men were only one spot worse at 29th against the pass (and significantly worse as a team defense, 25th overall).The biggest difference between the Saints and Giants? The offense we’ve already talked about. Remember: the Giants didn’t put up 40 points in a single game in 2011. The Giants had only the 9th best offense in 2011. The Patriots had the second. The top offense in 2011? Of course: your New Orleans Saints. Once the Saints get past the Giants to advance to the Super Bowl, there would be no reason the Saints chances at winning Super Bowl XLVI isn’t - at worst - a toss up. It would be likely, though, that the Saints would enter as the favorites to win.If Vernon Davis just tripped on his own shoelaces with 35 seconds left to go in the game on January 14, 2012, the Saints could have had two Lombardis in three years.What could have been... Custom Buffalo Bills Jerseys